1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for the family 
  1.3             connection program; establishing a demonstration site; 
  1.4             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.5             sections 124D.26; 124D.27; 124D.28; and 124D.29. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.26, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      124D.26 [~~IMPROVED LEARNING~~ FAMILY CONNECTIONS PROGRAM.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] A district or group of 
  1.11  districts may establish ~~an improved learning~~ a family 
  1.12  connections program.  
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [RULES AND RIGHTS.] The state board of education 
  1.14  may waive district compliance with its rules which would prevent 
  1.15  implementation of ~~an improved learning~~ a family connections 
  1.16  program.  Participation in ~~an improved learning~~ a family 
  1.17  connections program as a ~~principal-teacher, counselor-teacher,~~ 
  1.18  ~~or career~~ family connections teacher must not affect seniority 
  1.19  in the district or rights under the applicable collective 
  1.20  bargaining agreement.  
  1.21     Subd. 3.  [ADDITIONAL FUNDING.] A district providing ~~an~~ 
  1.22  ~~improved learning~~ a family connections program may receive funds 
  1.23  for the program from private sources and governmental agencies, 
  1.24  including state or federal funds.  
  1.25     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.27, is 
  2.1   amended to read: 
  2.2      124D.27 [ADVISORY COUNCIL.] 
  2.3      The board of a district providing a family connections 
  2.4   program must appoint an advisory council.  Council members must 
  2.5   be selected from the school attendance area in which programs 
  2.6   are provided.  Members of the council may include students, 
  2.7   teachers, principals, administrators and community members.  A 
  2.8   majority of the members must be parents with children 
  2.9   participating in the local program.  The local advisory council 
  2.10  must advise the board in the development, coordination, 
  2.11  supervision, and review of the ~~career teacher~~ family connections 
  2.12  program.  The council must meet at least two times each year 
  2.13  with any established community education advisory council in the 
  2.14  district.  Members of the council may be members of the 
  2.15  community education advisory council.  The council must report 
  2.16  to the school board. 
  2.17     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.28, is 
  2.18  amended to read: 
  2.19     124D.28 [FAMILY CONNECTIONS PROGRAM COMPONENTS.] 
  2.20     Subdivision 1.  [MANDATORY COMPONENTS.] A family 
  2.21  connections program must include:  
  2.22     (1) participation by a designated individual as a ~~career~~ 
  2.23  family connections teacher~~, principal-teacher, or counselor~~ 
  2.24  ~~teacher~~; 
  2.25     (2) an emphasis on each individual child's unique learning 
  2.26  and development needs; 
  2.27     (3) procedures to give the ~~career~~ family connections 
  2.28  teacher a major responsibility for leadership of the 
  2.29  instructional and noninstructional activities of each child 
  2.30  beginning with early childhood family education; 
  2.31     (4) procedures to involve parents in the learning and 
  2.32  development experiences of their children; 
  2.33     (5) procedures to implement outcome based education by 
  2.34  focusing on the needs of the learner; 
  2.35     (6) procedures to coordinate and integrate the 
  2.36  instructional program with all community education programs; 
  3.1      (7) procedures to concentrate ~~career~~ family connections 
  3.2   teacher programs at sites that provide early childhood family 
  3.3   education and subsequent learning and development programs; and 
  3.4      (8) procedures for the district to fund the program.  
  3.5      Subd. 2.  [OPTIONAL COMPONENTS.] A family connections 
  3.6   program may include:  
  3.7      (1) efforts to improve curricula strategies, instructional 
  3.8   strategies, and use of materials that respond to the individual 
  3.9   educational needs and learning styles of each pupil in order to 
  3.10  enable each pupil to make continuous progress and to learn at a 
  3.11  rate appropriate to that pupil's abilities; 
  3.12     (2) efforts to develop student abilities in basic skills; 
  3.13  applied learning skills; and, when appropriate, arts; 
  3.14  humanities; physical, natural, and social sciences; 
  3.15  multicultural education; physical, emotional, and mental health; 
  3.16  consumer economics; and career education; 
  3.17     (3) use of community resources and communications media to 
  3.18  pursue learning and development opportunities for pupils; 
  3.19     (4) staff development for teachers and other school 
  3.20  personnel; 
  3.21     (5) improvements to the learning and development 
  3.22  environment, including use of the community in general, to 
  3.23  enhance the learning and development process; 
  3.24     (6) cooperative efforts with other agencies involved with 
  3.25  human services or child development and development of 
  3.26  alternative community based learning and development 
  3.27  experiences; 
  3.28     (7) post-secondary education components for pupils who are 
  3.29  able to accelerate or programs for pupils with special abilities 
  3.30  and interests who are given advanced learning and development 
  3.31  opportunities within existing programs; 
  3.32     (8) use of volunteers in the learning and development 
  3.33  program; 
  3.34     (9) flexible attendance schedules for pupils; 
  3.35     (10) adult education component; 
  3.36     (11) coordination with early childhood family education and 
  4.1   community education programs; 
  4.2      (12) variable student/faculty ratios for special education 
  4.3   students to provide for special programming; 
  4.4      (13) inclusion of nonpublic pupils as part of the ratio in 
  4.5   the career teacher, principal-teacher, and counselor teacher 
  4.6   component; 
  4.7      (14) application of educational research findings; 
  4.8      (15) summer learning and development experiences for 
  4.9   students as recommended by the ~~career~~ family connections 
  4.10  teacher~~, principal-teacher, and counselor teacher~~; 
  4.11     (16) use of education assistants, teacher aides, or 
  4.12  paraprofessionals as part of the ~~career~~ family connections 
  4.13  teacher program; 
  4.14     (17) establishment of alternative criteria for high school 
  4.15  graduation; and 
  4.16     (18) variable age and learning size groupings of students. 
  4.17     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.29, is 
  4.18  amended to read: 
  4.19     124D.29 [~~CAREER~~ FAMILY CONNECTIONS TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, AND 
  4.20  COUNSELOR.] 
  4.21     Subdivision 1.  [STATUS.] A family connections program may 
  4.22  include a ~~career~~ family connections teacher, 
  4.23  ~~principal-teacher~~ principal, and counselor ~~teacher~~ component.  
  4.24  The ~~career~~ family connections teacher, ~~principal-teacher~~ 
  4.25  principal, and counselor ~~teacher~~ must not be the exclusive 
  4.26  teacher for students assigned to them but shall serve as a 
  4.27  primary teacher and perform the function of developing and 
  4.28  implementing a student's overall learning and development 
  4.29  program.  The ~~career~~ family connections teacher, 
  4.30  ~~principal-teacher~~ principal, and counselor ~~teacher~~ may be 
  4.31  responsible for regular assignments as well as learning and 
  4.32  development programs for other assigned students.  
  4.33     Subd. 2.  [QUALIFICATIONS.] (a) An individual employed as a 
  4.34  ~~career~~ family connections teacher must be licensed as a teacher 
  4.35  and shall be considered a teacher as defined in section 179A.03, 
  4.36  subdivision 18, for purposes of chapter 179A.  
  5.1      (b) An individual employed as a family connections 
  5.2   principal ~~teacher~~ must be licensed as a principal and shall be 
  5.3   considered a principal, as defined in section 179A.03, 
  5.4   subdivision 12, for purposes of chapter 179A. 
  5.5      (c) An individual employed as a family connections 
  5.6   counselor ~~teacher~~ must be licensed as a counselor and shall be 
  5.7   considered a teacher, as defined in section 179A.03, subdivision 
  5.8   18, for purposes of chapter 179A. 
  5.9      Subd. 3.  [STAFF/STUDENT RATIO.] (a) Except as provided in 
  5.10  clause (b), one ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~,~~ 
  5.11  ~~principal-teacher, or counselor teacher~~ shall be assigned for 
  5.12  every 125 students.  For each special education student included 
  5.13  in the assignment, the 1:125 ratio must be reduced by one.  
  5.14     (b) One ~~principal-teacher~~ family connections teacher shall 
  5.15  be assigned for every 50 students when the 
  5.16  ~~principal-teacher~~ family connections teacher is also the 
  5.17  principal of the school.  
  5.18     Subd. 4.  [SELECTION; RENEWAL.] (a) The board must 
  5.19  establish procedures for teachers, principals, and counselors to 
  5.20  apply for the position of ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~,~~ 
  5.21  ~~principal-teacher, or counselor teacher~~.  The authority for 
  5.22  selection of ~~career~~ family connections teachers~~,~~ 
  5.23  ~~principal-teachers, and counselor teachers~~ is vested in the 
  5.24  board and no individual shall have a right to employment as 
  5.25  a ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~, principal-teacher, or~~ 
  5.26  ~~counselor teacher~~ based on seniority or order of employment in 
  5.27  the district.  
  5.28     (b) Employment of the ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~,~~ 
  5.29  ~~principal-teacher, and counselor teacher~~ may be on a 12-month 
  5.30  basis with vacation time negotiated individually with the 
  5.31  board.  The annual contract of a ~~career~~ family connections 
  5.32  teacher~~, principal -teacher, or counselor teacher~~ may not be 
  5.33  renewed, as the board shall see fit.  The board must give any 
  5.34  teacher whose contract as a ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~,~~ 
  5.35  ~~principal-teacher, or counselor teacher~~ it declines to renew for 
  5.36  the following year written notice to that effect before April 
  6.1   15.  If the board fails to renew the contract of a ~~career~~ family 
  6.2   connections teacher~~, principal-teacher, or counselor teacher~~, 
  6.3   that individual must be reinstated to another position in the 
  6.4   district if eligible pursuant to section 122A.40 or 122A.41.  
  6.5      Subd. 5.  [DUTIES.] The ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~,~~ 
  6.6   ~~principal-teacher, and counselor teacher~~ is responsible for:  
  6.7      (1) the overall education, learning, and development plan 
  6.8   of assigned students.  The ~~career~~ family connections teacher~~,~~ 
  6.9   ~~principal-teacher, and counselor teacher~~ must design this plan 
  6.10  with the student, parents, and other faculty, and must seek to 
  6.11  maximize the learning and development potential and maturation 
  6.12  level of each pupil; 
  6.13     (2) measuring the proficiency of the assigned students and 
  6.14  assisting other staff in identifying pupil needs and making 
  6.15  appropriate educational and subject groupings; 
  6.16     (3) when part of the district's plan, taking responsibility 
  6.17  for the parent and early childhood education of assigned 
  6.18  students; 
  6.19     (4) designing and being responsible for program components 
  6.20  which meet special learning needs of high potential and talented 
  6.21  students; 
  6.22     (5) coordinating the ongoing, year-to-year learning and 
  6.23  development program for assigned students; and 
  6.24     (6) developing learning and development portfolios.  
  6.25     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  6.26     Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND 
  6.27  LEARNING.] The following sums are appropriated from the general 
  6.28  fund to the department of children, families, and learning in 
  6.29  the fiscal years indicated. 
  6.30     Subd. 2.  [FAMILY CONNECTIONS AID.] For family connections 
  6.31  aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.30: 
  6.32       $1,000,000     .....     2000
  6.33       $1,000,000     .....     2001
  6.34     Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is 
  6.35  available in the second year. 
  6.36     Aid must be paid to all school districts with an approved 
  7.1   plan that meets the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, sections 
  7.2   124D.24 to 124D.29. 
  7.3      Subd. 3.  [FAMILY CONNECTIONS DEMONSTRATION SITE.] For a 
  7.4   grant to a school district to serve as a family connections 
  7.5   demonstration site: 
  7.6        $50,000     .....     2000
  7.7        $50,000     .....     2001
  7.8      The purpose of the demonstration site is to communicate the 
  7.9   benefits of the family connections program to other school 
  7.10  districts and to help demonstrate how to implement the program.  
  7.11  This appropriation may be used for staff time, replication of 
  7.12  materials, site visits, and for demonstrations. 
  7.13     Subd. 4.  [FAMILY CONNECTIONS RESEARCH STUDY.] For a 
  7.14  research study of the effectiveness of the family connections 
  7.15  program: 
  7.16       $100,000     .....     2000
  7.17     The demonstration site, the county, and the department of 
  7.18  children, families, and learning must research the 
  7.19  cost-effectiveness of the family connections program as an early 
  7.20  resource and referral system for families, facilitating parent 
  7.21  involvement, and early intervention in the development and 
  7.22  learning of the student.  The department of children, families, 
  7.23  and learning, the county, and the demonstration site must report 
  7.24  the results of the research study to the commissioner of 
  7.25  children, families, and learning. 
  7.26     This appropriation is available until June 30, 2001.